Constitution

Shahid Buttar: The Crisis Is Constitutional

November 9, 2020 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. Podcast 2020 Elections, Constitution, Democracy, Democrats

The presidential election has been called for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I speak with Constitutional lawyer and activist Shahid Buttar about what that means for our work on issues of social justice, his campaign to challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her congressional seat, and critical issues of the day such as the media, democracy, militarization and mass surveillance. Buttar points out that the crises we face are more than political. The United States is in a Constitutional crisis and legislators such as California's Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein are at the helm.

Radical Neoliberalism Was Born And Will Die In Chile

October 31, 2020 Patricio Zamorano, Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Resist! Bolivia, Chile, Constitution, Neoliberalism

A wave of Indigenous peoples supporting the Luis Arce-David Choquehuanca presidential ticket defeated the main right-wing candidate, Carlos Mesa by 20 points, restoring democracy to Bolivia. Just days later around 80% of Chilean voters decided by referendum to re-found their nation with a new constitution. These momentous events represent twin victories for Latin American independence, the rejection of radical neoliberalism, a desire for socio-economic reform, and the insistence on self-determination from the bottom-up.

Chile: Left-Wing Forces Seek New Start With The Plebiscite

October 21, 2020 Telesur English. Create! Chile, Constitution, Human Rights, Pinochet

Chile's Communist Party (PC) will do everything it can to guarantee a victory in the upcoming referendum on Sunday 25, as the country gets ready to decide whether it remains with the current constitution created by Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship or starts a brand new chapter of its history instead. The CP President Guillermo Teillier told local media outlet El Siglo that his party will support mobilization until the last day of permitted propaganda and encourage social organizations to do the same.

DeJoy’s USPS Changes Violate Federal Law

September 10, 2020 the Constitutional Accountability Center, Popular Resistance. Educate! 2020 Elections, Constitution, Louis DeJoy, US Postal Service

Before USPS leaders may implement changes that will impact mail delivery on a substantially nationwide basis, the law requires certain procedures to be followed. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, however, ignored that law, instead pushing ahead with changes that have slowed mail delivery across America. Removing collection boxes. Dismantling high-speed mail sorting machines. Reducing employee overtime pay and delivery hours. Telling 46 states and the District of Columbia that the USPS could not guarantee timely delivery of mail-in ballots for the November election.

Teen Who Organized BLM Rally Billed $2500 For Police Overtime

August 30, 2020 AP News. Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Constitution, First Amendment, Freedom of Assembly

A teen who organized a Black Lives Matter rally in her northern New Jersey town said she has been sent a $2500 bill from officials for police overtime. NJ Advance Media reported Friday Emily Gil, 18, of Englewood Cliffs received a letter earlier this month from Mayor Mario M. Kranjac looking for payment of $2,499.26 “for the police overtime caused by your protest.” A civil liberties advocate called the move “shocking.” Gil, a recent high school graduate, had organized a protest on July 25 in the town, just across the river from the uppermost parts of Manhattan. She said she called for action like increasing affordable housing in the town, and chastised Engelwood Cliffs for not implementing it over the years.

When Can A Soldier Disobey An Order?

June 2, 2020 John Ford, War on the Rocks. Strategize! Constitution, Rebellion2020, Rule of Law, US military

In March 1968, a U.S. infantry platoon under the command of 2nd Lt. William “Rusty” Calley conducted a raid of a hamlet called My Lai in Quang Ngai Province of South Vietnam. After taking the hamlet, Calley ordered his men to round up the remaining civilians, herd them into a ditch, and gun them down. Somewhere between 350 and 500 civilians were killed on Calley’s instruction. Calley was court-martialed for his actions and charged with 22 counts of murder. At his trial, he testified that his company commander, Capt. Ernest Medina, had ordered him to kill “every living thing” in My Lai, telling him there were no civilians there, only Viet Cong. When Calley radioed back to Medina that the platoon had rounded up a large number of unarmed civilians, he claimed Medina told him to “waste them.”

On Contact: Death Of The US Constitution

April 6, 2020 Chris Hedges, On Contact, RTAmerica. Resistance Report Chris Hedges, Constitution, Impeachment, Trump

On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to constitutional scholar Bruce Fein about the death of our US Constitution. Ralph Nader, with constitutional scholars Louis Fisher and Bruce Fein, wrote to the speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, on November 22 urging her to focus on 12 Articles of Impeachment President Donald Trump had allegedly violated during his administration. Among them: flouting the emoluments clause, expanding presidential wars, and spending billions of dollars on projects not appropriated by the US Congress.

DOJ Wants To Suspend Certain Constitutional Rights During Coronavirus Emergency

March 26, 2020 Peter Wade, Informationclearinghouse.info Educate! Constitution, COVID-19, DOJ, Rights

The Trump Department of Justice has asked Congress to craft legislation allowing chief judges to indefinitely hold people without trial and suspend other constitutionally-protected rights during coronavirus and other emergencies, according to a report by Politico’s Betsy Woodruff Swan. While the asks from the Department of Justice will likely not come to fruition with a Democratically-controlled House of Representatives, they demonstrate how much this White House has a frightening disregard for rights enumerated in the Constitution. The DOJ has requested Congress allow any chief judge of a district court to pause court proceedings “whenever the district court is fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation,” according to draft language obtained by Politico.

Is Assange Covered By The Same Constitutional Rights As U.S. Citizens?

February 7, 2020 Angel Fox, Angelof-truth.com Educate! Constitution, Journalism, Julian Assange

The U.S. government is attempting to set a dangerous precedent not only against journalists but its own Constitution by stating in last Thursday’s Assange hearing. They say that Julian Assange has no rights in this case as a foreigner. The problem with this statement is very clear. The Constitution of the United States was written to protect human rights against government that seeks to harm the individual.

Piñera Signs Decree Calling Constitutional Referendum

December 29, 2019 Telesur English. Resist! Chile, Constitution, Democracy

Chile's President Sebastian Piñera Friday signed the decree that summons the constitutional plebiscite on April 26, 2020, which will allow Chileans to decide whether or not they want a new constitution. "We are going to live a transcendent period in these 121 days that we have until the plebiscite," Piñera said at an event carried out at the Palace of La Moneda in Santiago. This process seeks to change the constitution generated under the tutelage of the dictator Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), which is one of the main demands that citizens have raised in the protests that have developed continuously since October. On April 26, 2020, besides deciding whether or not to support a constitutional change, Chileans will choose between two mechanisms for drafting the new constitution.

Prolonged Protests In Panama Over Proposed Constitutional Reforms

October 31, 2019 Popular Resistance. Resist! Constitution, Corruption, Education, Panama

Protests in Panama started on October 22 when 1,000 students, teachers and administrators from the University of Panama marched to the National Assembly to protest proposed changes to the Constitution that would undermine higher education. When the marchers arrived at the National Assembly, they were prevented from entering and some climbed over the fence to get in. Since then, protests have continued every day and more groups have joined them. Telesur reports that trade unions, movements, and social organizations have also joined. Telesur explains why the demonstrations are growing: "...after the first debates of the reform on October 15, a group of assembly members included amendments that would give them the power to alter the general state budget, appoint a superior prosecutor to investigate attorneys, censor ministers and adjust the salaries

National Emergencies: Constitutional And Statutory Restrictions On Presidential Powers

February 17, 2019 Cindy Cohn and Shahid Buttar, Electronic Frontier Foundation. Educate! Constitution, National Emergency, Surveillance, Trump

When a president threatens to exercise the power to declare a national emergency, our system of checks and balances faces a crucial test. With President Trump threatening such a declaration in order to build his proposed physical border wall, that test could be an important one that could quickly implicate your right to privacy and a transparent government. Like the Constitution, statutory powers do not justify a presidential declaration of emergency powers to build a proposed border wall. EFF has long tangled with governmental actions rooted in presidential power.

Democracy In Cuba: A Referendum On A New Constitution

January 16, 2019 Staff, En.granma.cu Educate! Constitution, Cuba, Democracy

On February 24, the Cuban people will vote in a popular referendum on the new Constitution. We offer some details of the process. ON February 24, the Cuban people, exercising their sovereignty, will decide on one of the most important issues for the country: the approval in a popular referendum of the new Constitution. This is a fully democratic exercise, following from the approval by the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP) of the final text, drafted after the popular consultation process in which the entire population was able to participate. This led to the modification of 60% of the draft text through the opinions expressed in more than 133,000 meetings across the country.

The Constitution And Homelessness

October 3, 2018 Steve Martinot, Counterpunch.org Educate! Constitution, Homelessness

When the police violate the US Constitution, are they criminal? In what court can their conduct be judged illegal? For recourse against crimes against the people for violation of the Constitution, to whom can we turn? We finally found out that it was illegal all along for the Berkeley PD to raid and disperse homeless encampments. It is a violation of the Constitution. So said the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Sept. 4, 2018. But it has been going on for years. All those former raids were illegal, and those former arrests and confiscations of property were also illegal. Now, the Court has made it official. Can this be turned into anything but a civil suit. Can past victimization be turned into anything but money? We suspect that Berkeley city government doesn’t care. On Sept. 5, 2018, the very next day after the Ninth Circuit Court decision, the Berkeley PD raided another homeless encampment.

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